Akron Football 2014 Spring Wrap Up

Strengths & Question Marks

The team’s obvious strength is the defense. The Zips’ spring game ended in a 3-3 tie. The defense was all over the place making big plays (six sacks), a couple of picks and minimizing big plays. They generally looked solid. You take that with a grain of salt, however, because they’d only seen their offense all season. Additionally, even within that unit, there are possible question marks, especially in the defensive backfield where defensive coordinator Chuck Amato will have to replace a lockdown cornerback in Malachi Freeman, who graduated last winter.

The offense overall is a question mark. Kyle Pohl returns as the starter at QB and the job is his to lose. The big question mark comes on the offensive line where the Zips lost three starters. They have three interior guys with experience, but both tackles are gone. The offensive coaching staff have liked what they’ve seen in Isaiah Williams at left tackle, but he will face competition from Scott Boyett, a 6-7 transfer from California via Florida. The tackle jobs will be some of the more fiercely challenged gigs.

Breakout Players

You should always watch for Fransohn Bickley, he was the team’s freshman of the year last year, who came very close to breaking more than a few huge gains during the season. With a year under his belt, it’s logical to assume a few of those will happen.

Bryce Cheek at cornerback looks as if he has the stuff to replace Malachi Freeman, including two inches of additional height.

L.T. Smith was inconsistent last year, I suspect he will have a huge year this year. He is one of two receivers, including Zach D’Orazio, that Pohl showed chemistry.

In passing situations pay attention to 6-8 Nimesoma Okafor. He’s very quick on the outside.

Position Grades

Akron QB Kyle Pohl

QB: B-   Pohl needs to be more consistent and aggressive. He won’t have an persistent ankle injury this year to hamper him, or so the coaching staff hopes.

RB: C   You have Jawon Chisholm, who has run for an average of 900 yards the past three seasons. His backup is Conor Hundley who is reliable in short-yardage situations. Behind that the Zips need to have one of their speedier guys develop so they possess a change-of-speed back.

Receivers: B-   Pohl has a solid foundation with three WRs who have shown flashes. In an offense that normally rotates receivers in four at a time, he needs some such as Andrew Pratt, a junior from an Akron suburb, to step up. Sophomore Mykel Traylor-Bennett needs to have a breakout year.

OL: Incomplete   There are two big question marks at tackle.

DL: Incomplete   Because the Zips lost two big contributors in Nico Caponi (DT) and C.J. James (DE) to graduation or their eligibility running out. Junior Cody Grice, a beast, returns but until seeing how those defensive ends show what they’re made of, this is a question mark.

LB: A-    Most solid group on the defense. Justin March and Jatavis Brown are leaders and defensive fiends. Add to the mix C.J. Mizell who is getting to learn the system and there is a solid core there.

SEC: C  Freeman is a big loss at cornerback, but Zips return some experience to help offset it.

2014 Expectations

They’ll be improved, but how that translates into wins remains to be seen. 

George Thomas, the Akron beat writer for Ohio.com, provided the information for our Akron football 2014 spring wrap up.  For more Zips football information, commentary and analysis, you can follow George on Twitter @GeorgeThomasABJ.